New Security Measure to Protect Against Acid Attack

Security forces in Wales are asking people to take a sip out of their water bottles to prove there is not acid in them.

Aug 10, 2017

Those who want to bring their water bottles into courts in Wales will have to take a sip out of the bottle to prove it isn't acid, according to the BBC.

The checks are designed to stop would-be attackers from throwing acid at judges, jurors or witnesses following a string of attacks in the area including acid.

the measure applies to anyone bringing a drink into a court building, including lawyers, journalists and staff.

The new security measure was introduced this week and is being rolled out across the country over the next few days. It has led to longer lines as security staff check for unsealed bottles and ask those with unsealed bottles to take a sip.

"We take the safety and security of court users and staff extremely seriously," a spokesman for HM Courts & Tribunals Service, part of the Ministry of Justice, said. "Which is why we're bringing in enhanced safety measures across the court estate.

The new security measure comes just weeks after surveillance video was revealed showing two U.S.-Mexico Border Patrol officers ordered a traveler to sip some liquid out of a bottle they found suspicious. The bottles were filled with liquid meth and the officers urged the teen boy to drink more and more. The 16-year-old was dead just two hours later.